China Lands Chang'e 4 Spacecraft on Far Side of the Moon

Nick Aspinwall is a journalist based in Taipei and an editor-at-large for The News Lens. He has also written for The Diplomat, SupChina and New Naratif, among others. When he’s not reporting, he can be found on a diving boat or perhaps stranded deep within a remote mountain range.

Its mission involves performing low-frequency radio astronomy observations using a spectrometer and an exploration of the structure and mineral composition of the moon’s terrain, said the AP.

A satellite was previously launched to allow for communications support between the spacecraft and Earth.

The lunar landing marks a milestone in human space exploration and a notch in the belt of China’s growing space program. China landed the Chang’e 3 spacecraft on the moon’s surface in 2013, the first spacecraft to do so since the Soviet Union landed Luna 24 on the moon in 1976.

The last manned moon landing was the U.S. spacecraft Apollo 17 in 1972.